The PUNCTURISTS are a female-fronted 4 piece Melodic Garage Punk band who currently rehearse in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, UK. Members also live in Goole and Grimsby.
The line up is:
Dale Farrow – Bass
Gail Townsend – Singer
Martin Gregory – Drums
Patrick Crawford – Guitar
Well, Dear Reader it all started in early 2022. Carl Gulliford had tried to get back into drumming after a break away and each time he was hitting obstacles rather than drums. Pat Crawford saw his plea on a well-known social media site and contacted him regarding a ‘Loose Jam’ type thing. Some of you will know that these two had previously played together in System Of Hate. They booked a cold damp rehearsal space in Barnsley and that night got 7 tunes together, the lyrics came later. The ‘jam’ turned out really well and things moved fast, so within weeks Pat not one to let the grass grow under his feet, suggested going out as a band. Carl had the better voice so he would be singer and they looked at technology to go out as a 2 piece. Tony Jackson, sometime System Of Hate keyboard player, was contacted and asked his advice on what tech was required and he wanted to listen to the rough demos. He was blown away by the songs and energy and said, “I’ll play bass!”, so that was that. Pat persuaded his girlfriend, Gail Townsend, to sing backing vocals to help Carl out, as he was playing drums, and drums and singing is no walk in the park, in fact it’s pretty tricky. So now a 4 piece, The Puncturists were born. Pat worked his notice from System Of Hate and put all his eggs in The Puncturists’ basket.
The band played a few low-key gigs and decided it was time to record a mini album so Sunday in late June 2022 was booked at KNM Music Solutions in Barnsley and in one day, 7 tracks were recorded. These were mixed on the following Wednesday and it went live on Bandcamp on the 3rd of July 2022. As for those songs? Short, snappy, no-nonsense slabs of melodic punk. The release followed the same ethos, it sold online and paid for itself almost immediately, job done! It was very well received by the critics too and 5 of the 7 songs are still in the set as of July 2024.
During the winter of 2022, Carl decided it was time to stop drumming again due to ongoing health issues and said, “I only want to play gigs between the months of May and August, due to the cold.” This left the band with a hard decision to make and they even suggested getting another drummer with Carl just doing lead vocals but he was adamant he wanted to go.
Gail was asked would she be happy taking over on lead vocals and she said, “I’ll give it my best shot.” In hindsight, this turned out to be a massive stroke of fortune with the way the band has subsequently developed.
The band were struggling to find a suitable replacement, trying out several drummers but no one was right but after months in the wilderness, Mark Watson joined the band on drums and hit the rehearsal studio for what seemed like an absolute age. Tony even went away for a month, so the other two battled on, teaching Mark the songs. Mark played a number of gigs but he never seemed relaxed or comfortable, he had family issues and the worst luck ever with cars that anyone could have possibly had. After one gig where ‘things didn’t quite go to plan’, Tony left the band, he said he’d just lost the love, we understood. Pat’s friend Allen Ellison, who had previously played together in the X Rippers came in on bass to help steady the ship, the band pressed on and rehearsals continued. Out of blue, Dale Farrow who knew Pat from his time in System of Hate contacted Pat and asked how the band was going and adding that he was now in a position to get back out playing again, having had a break from performing live and would love to get involved as a second guitarist, although his first love is actually bass. Pat mentioned this to Allen and he said, “Get Dale in, if he’s a real bass player, it will be much better for the band.” So Allen, after learning all the set, headed off back into the shadows, for now. Dale learned the set and the band set about getting tight again. I know Dear Reader, it’s a slog writing it also! The band travelled to Macclesfield to play an All-Dayer and had another; ‘things not going quite to plan’ moment and the drum seat became available again. Terry Coles from Local Barnsley thrash metal band, Death Of Man, came in after a chance meeting with Pat and so back to the rehearsal studio. Gigs were booked and then later another studio visit, returning to KNM Music Solutions. This line up played some decent gigs, including a prestigious support slot with Spear Of Destiny and a couple of festivals. Allen also returned for one gig to cover for Dale while he was recovering from an operation.
As time went on it became more evident Terry wasn’t quite the right fit for The Puncturists and things came to a head when a full day’s recordings were rejected, they just weren’t right and had to be scrapped, sad but true. Terry left and as with Mark, the band are extremely grateful for all the effort they put in, but now this cycle had to be stopped and “Mr Right” needed to be found for the drum stool.
Lee Terry, The Kingcrows’ drummer and Pat’s good friend for over a decade and half, who’d previously filled a similar substitute role in System Of Hate, was asked if he could help out while the band took their time and really give themselves a chance to recruit the right person. Lee agreed to do 3 gigs, which actually turned out to be 4 but who’s counting, while a number of drummers were tried out and careful consideration was taken to avoid any rash decisions. A particular highlight of Lee’s tenure was an appearance on the main stage at the Nice and Sleazy Festival in Morecambe in May and as the crowd reaction and videos from the day show, the band were now really on fire.
One of the many replies to the band’s adverts for a new sticksman was a drummer from Grimsby, one Martin Gregory. Pat chatted with him for a few weeks and got very excited when Martin revealed his past experience which included, amongst others, playing with a very professional wedding/party disco band. Martin sent some videos from his time with them and all of the rest of band were convinced this was a chap we had to hear live. Cutting a long story short, Martin drove over to Barnsley from Grimsby and his audition was everything the band could have hoped for; he really got the songs, the feel and energy and added his own licks and style even on first run through and best of all, everyone got on like a house on fire. It’s hard to tell who was most relieved the band or Lee Terry who must have been dreading Pat asking if he was available “for just one more gig, honest” lol! Martin is now installed as the permanent drummer and we cannot thank Lee enough for the time and effort he’s put into The Puncturists, a superb drummer, a gentleman and a diamond bloke.
As of June 2024 the band are now working on writing the last few songs for their debut full album.
